Posted by: @valiantarcher

"May I offer any assist - oh,"

Junior did a double-take at the bull. Just then, Junior heard Ainsely and Maeve entering the room, and was relieved to see they were carrying a ladder.

Posted by: @jackalopeofevul

"Oh, Junior, meet my new friend Mr. Norro. Now, as I've said before, you two have some things to discuss." Jeff said, gesturing towards the Bull. "Oh, and it would be preferable if you had this conversation somewhere out of Maeve's way. She's got some little girls to rescue."

Junior obliged, stepping back a bit, but still standing close enough to attempt to catch one of the girls, should they fall.

"Well, well, well. So you're a talking bull?" Junior turned to the officer with a "well, why didn't you just say so?" expression. "That explains a lot."

He then turned back to the bull. "And yet, now I have new questions. If you are a talking bull, why did you kick me? And why haven't you said anything before now, hmm?"

Faye could only watch as the scene around her devolved into chaos in record time. So, apparently the bull was named Mr. Norro, and he could talk... and now Faye had so many more questions, but wasn't really sure she wanted to know the answer to any of them. Junior, with his usual luck, seemed to have trouble fixing things without making it worse. And now there were kids in the chandelier, spilled drinks, a torn curtain.... Then again, this was Ditto Town.

Faye wasn't really sure what she could contribute to the rescue effort for the girls - and, it seemed to be well in hand as it was - so she decided to claim a gift from the table before the next disaster happened. She chose a bundle wrapped in soft cloth, tied with a ribbon, and took it aside where she wouldn't get in the way. Her eyes widened in pleasant surprise. Inside the box was a green, tablet-woven belt, with Celtic knots worked in gold thread. It was a lovely gift.

Just about then, she heard the loud sound of kazoo playing. Apparently, the Baxter girls had found the gift with noisemakers inside. Somehow, that seemed inevitable. Faye made her way over to Angie and commented dryly, "Never a dull moment around here, huh?"

Posted by: @jackalopeofevul
Oh, Junior, meet my new friend Mr. Norro. Now, as I've said before, you two have some things to discuss.

Discuss? What did they have to discuss? the bull wondered. Does he mean I should...apologise?

Oh, and it would be preferable if you had this conversation somewhere out of Maeve's way. She's got some little girls to rescue.

Ahh - Evans wants Junior to go away! Well, if one doesn't sacrifice for a friend, who would one sacrifice for? The bull obliged and moved to the side along with Junior.

Posted by: @risto
Well, well, well. So you're a talking bull? That explains a lot. And yet, now I have new questions. If you are a talking bull, why did you kick me? And why haven't you said anything before now, hmm?

He whuffled a breath out quickly and, with a glance at Officer Evans, bit his tongue and tried to reel in his first instincts. Sacrifice! Show you're worthy of his confidence and trust! Be the bigger person, emm, bull!

"In answer to your questions: Yes, I am fully capable of talking. I kicked you because you walked up and slapped me without introduction or approval, as if I was a docile and common cow, dumb and unthinking; I admit the kick was...a bit of an overreaction, and I apologise for any injuries you have sustained. Lastly, simply because I am capable of talking does not mean I will always choose to talk or see the necessity of talking at every or any given instance," he said, slowly edging closer in hopes of shifting Junior further away from Evans. "Even some humans do the same at times, sir."

Maeve and Ainsley settled the ladder in short order, and Maeve was up it in a flash. She smiled kindly at Cosette, inquiring if she could navigate the ladder on her own, and, upon her acknowledgement to that fact, she helped Cosette transfer onto the ladder and down the steps, then Kaelin. Soon, all three were down on the ground. 

Kaelin was red, her eyes puffy and her coughing unabated. In fact, once she reached the ground, it seemed to grow worse, her breaths having a strange wheeze to them. 

"Let's...get you out of the dining room," Maeve said gently, exchanging glances with Jeff. "Some fresh air will do you good, and we should try washing your face and hands, just in case."

Posted by: @stargazer

Grace looked in the box her sister had chosen, pulled out a red kazoo, and joined in. Angie wasn't sure whether to join in - there were more kazoos in the box - plug her ears, or apologize to those around them. But her daughters were having a wonderful time.

"Ah, I was hoping my gift would go to someone who would appreciate it," Ian said as he walked up. "I wish I'd brought my guitar so I could provide some accompaniment!" He offered his hand to the woman he took to be the girls' mother. "Ian Grayson."

As he extended his hand, his own un-unwrapped present started to fall, as he had tucked it under that arm when Lauren had thrust her envelope at him. Ian caught it with his left, and cradled it. Now he was really starting to wonder what was in it.

He turned when his name was mentioned by Junior, but upon noticing the tension between that man and the other people underneath the chandelier, he decided it was best to remain where he was.

Posted by: @valiantarcher

"Oh! I apologise! I didn't realise I was in the way," Moira said in a rush. "I was fascinated by my gift - have you ever seen anything like it before?" She thrust her wrist in front of the woman's face excitedly.

Lauren blinked. "I've seen watches -- wait." She looked at the device again. "... Oh. No, I haven't." She studied it for a long moment, trying to work out what its purpose would be. It certainly looked like a watch, but there was no face, no hands, not even a digital display. Maybe it's a ... new bracelet design?

"I'm still trying to figure out mine," Lauren said. Not wanting to dwell on that topic at the moment, she went on, "I wanted to say -- you were very brave earlier, facing that ... bull." Politic, Lauren. You want to make a good impression.

"Pleased to meet you, Ian. I'm Angie Baxter, and I'd say your gift was certainly a hit with my girls. I'm not sure you've met them yet, but that's Emma on the yellow and Grace on the red."  She smiled at him.  "Are you musically inclined, then? I'm not sure I've ever heard a guitar-and-kazoo concert, but I think my kids would love to try it sometime, maybe after the holidays."

"Professional music-maker, actually," Ian said cheerily. "Or, I was. I'd ask to borrow a kazoo to demonstrate but, uh, all the music genes went to my fingers--" he waggled the appendages mentioned,  "and not to my vocal chords." 

"Your daughters offered to show me some good sledding hills," he went on. "I've only just met a few of the people here, but I must say I can't think of anyone I'd trust more to show me around."

"Yeah, fresh air is probably a good idea," Jeff replied, growing ever more concerned as Kaelin's condition worsened. 

"Come on, let's getcha outside," Jeff added while he helped to guide the youngling towards the door. 

"Jeff?" 

"What?"

"Keys."

"Oh, it's in the trunk. Bright red. You can't miss it." Jeffery responded, realizing both her point and her intentions. Then, he tossed Ainsley his keyring, and she took off into the night. Only to reappear once the group had made it to the Mansion's exterior, and in her left hand, she held a large med-bag. 

"Which pocket?" 

"Small one, front left." 

Ainsley wasted no time in securing their ultimate goal, an epinephrine auto-injector. Whatever Kaelin's reaction was, it clearly indicated all the signs and symptoms of anaphylactic shock. Which was the conclusion which the two of them had almost wordlessly agreed upon earlier. 

"Will this even work on her?" Jeff asked Maeve as he handed over the injector. 

"I am hoping and praying it does," Maeve said quietly. "Allergies weren't really a thing on our home planet."

Maeve got Kaelin seated on the step, moving her shirt off of her leg.

"Hold Jeff's hand, ok, and squeeze it tight if you need to," she said, pulling the blue tab off. She held Kaelin's knee steady, double checked her aim, then stuck her little sister. It seemed like forever before the injector clicked, and Maeve slowly counted down before pulling it away and massaging Kaelin's leg.

Kaelin grimaced and squeezed Jeff's hand, unsure of what to expect, but then realized it hurt more because she expected it to, than actually hurting. Her heart was racing, but for some reason, that was okay.

Most importantly, she could breathe again.

"Grace would love to be your tour guide," Angie said to Ian.  "But I'd prefer she do it during the day. Sledding is safer then."

Posted by: @ryadian

Faye made her way over to Angie and commented dryly, "Never a dull moment around here, huh?"

Angie blushed.  "That's for sure.  Sorry if they're being a little loud."  She glanced around the busy Mansion and said to both Faye and Ian, "There's a lot going on around here.  I think I'll take the girls outside for a bit and let them play to their hearts' content.  You're welcome to join us, of course.  Otherwise we'll be back in soon."

She led her kids outside, where they found Dan watching the goings-on with Kaelin and Cosette.  He stood to the side, having little to offer, but once Grace saw her friend in distress she tried to hurry to her side.  "What's wrong with her?" she blurted out.  "Will she be all right?"

A moment later she was relieved to see that Kaelin seemed to be breathing again.

Posted by: @valiantarcher

In answer to your questions: Yes, I am fully capable of talking. I kicked you because you walked up and slapped me without introduction or approval, as if I was a docile and common cow, dumb and unthinking; I admit the kick was...a bit of an overreaction, and I apologise for any injuries you have sustained. Lastly, simply because I am capable of talking does not mean I will always choose to talk or see the necessity of talking at every or any given instance," he said, slowly edging closer in hopes of shifting Junior further away from Evans. "Even some humans do the same at times, sir.

“Come, come. If you think back, you’ll recall I patted you on the back, not slapped you. My daddy raised me with more sense than to slap a wild bull. And I dare say, you weren’t merely silent. You were pretending to be a dumb bull weren’t you? It really was quite a convincing show. Now, should I be blamed for being taken in by your superb acting display? Really, you should be on stage. You have performed before, I presume? Perhaps even gone to one of the famous acting schools?”

Jeff allowed Kaelin to squeeze his hand as tightly as she could. On the down-low, he carefully palpated her distal pulse, hoping and praying to any god that would listen for an increase in heart rate, a sure-fire sign that the epinephrine was doing its job. Sure enough, shortly after the injection, he felt her pulse increase in both strength and speed.

"Well, that answers that question, I guess. Elementals do have adrenal glands." Jeff stated flatly, sitting down on the steps next to Kaelin and draping his blazer jacket over her shoulders. Just then, the sky broke, and large globular snow flakes began to drift down from the sky. 

"Huh. Would you look at that."

Posted by: @wren

She held Kaelin's knee steady, double checked her aim, then stuck her little sister.

This time it was no fuzzy hearing or blurred vision. Cosette's breath hitched as she breathed in and dropped. It was only a matter of time before her condition would catch up to her. This is why she never goes out in the first place. Hopefully she wouldn't be staring into her angry grandparent's faces when she came to.

A soft thud nearby caused Maeve to momentarily look away from Kaelin.

"Second one's down!" Maeve said shortly. "Kaelin, are you ok if Ainsley takes you back inside, and gets you settled?"

"Yeah," Kaelin replied, pulling Jeff's coat closer and watching the snow. "I'm ok."

"Ainsley, if you could? Just...maybe keep her out of the dining room. And maybe ask Delia if there's a whole house fan?"

"I got Kaelin, Maeve. You take care of..." Ainsley thought for a moment before she realized she didn't recognize that other girl at all. 

"Her?" 

~~~

Jeff bypassed his med-bag for now and went straight to patient assessment. Airway, check. Breathing, check. Circulation, the young girl had a pulse, but her heart rate was meager.

"Excuse me, miss, can you hear me?" No response. 

"Gonna need a pressure reading, probably a blood sugar as well. Just To be safe. She's sitting at forty-one beats per minute right now, but her respirations are a solid twenty-two, so she's breathing adequately. Unresponsive to verbal stimuli, moving to pain now."

Jeff reached up and pinched the child's earlobe between his thumb and pointer figure, hoping for a reaction.